1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a multipole electrical connector, which is intended for mounting in an opening in a housing wall, in particular a housing wall of a light housing.
Such a connector is used, for example, in a light strip or else in a light array. The expression light strip refers to a number of light elements that are linked to one another. Each of the light elements has an associated light housing. The individual light elements are generally connected via a connecting line or tapping line to a common supply line, in order to supply them with electrical power. The connecting line is in this case connected to the supply line via the multipole connector. The connector, which can also be referred to as a connecting distributor, is generally disposed in the immediate vicinity of the light element and connects two pieces of the supply line to one another. The connector is in this case mounted in a mounting opening in the light housing. However, the connector is not restricted to use for a light strip, and is generally suitable for connection of electrical appliances to a supply line, especially in a building installation system.
A light strip having an electrical plug connector or plug distributor is known from German Patent DE 94 14 984 U1. The plug distributor described in that document has a T-shaped cross section. The two sides of its transverse limb each have a conductor connection, to be precise in the form of a plug pin on one side and in the form of a plug socket on the other side, for further connection to further lights. The plug pin and the plug socket form a plug connector system, using which two pieces of the supply line are connected to one another. The plug connector system has, in particular, system plugs, which ensure simple connection without any faults. The incoming supply line is, for example, connected to the plug pins, and the outgoing supply line is connected to the plug sockets.
The longitudinal limb of the T-shaped plug distributor is intended for use as a tapping contact for the connection of the respective light element. The tapping contact is, in particular, likewise in the form of a system plug, which makes it possible to connect the light element easily and quickly.
The known T-shaped plug connector is preferably a part of a comprehensive connection system for connection of light elements. The connecting system is formed overall on the basis of the xe2x80x9cplug and playxe2x80x9d concept, thus allowing simple installation and, in particular, very quick installation, in situ when installing the light strip.
In order to supply electrical power to the light element disposed inside the light housing, it must be connected to the supply line running outside the light housing. To do this, the connector is generally disposed in a mounting opening in the rear wall of the light housing. A certain amount of installation effort is involved in mounting the connector in the mounting opening.
European Patent EP 0 327 703 B1 discloses a connecting terminal for electrical appliances such as lights, cookers, washing machines etc., which is intended for mounting on a terminal base. The connector terminal has an opening through which a stamped and bent sheet-metal part extends when the connecting terminal is fitted. The bent sheet-metal part is used to produce a contact-making connection to the terminal base, in order to form a protective-ground conductor contact. For this purpose, the end faces of the stamped and bent sheet-metal part are pressed against the opening edge of the opening. The stamped and bent sheet-metal part has two latching tongues, which spread apart after passing through the opening and thus form barbs, which are supported against the inner surface of the terminal base. The stamped and bent sheet-metal part thus additionally secures the connecting terminal on the terminal base. However, such a configuration requires the stamped and bent sheet-metal part to be disposed in a central region of the connecting terminal, which has to cover a large proportion of the terminal base.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a connector which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, which allows the connector to be fitted in a simple manner.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a multipole electrical connector. The multipole electrical connector includes a holding element for mounting in a mounting opening in a housing wall. The holding element has a holding spring with an outward bulge to form a recessed grip with the housing wall. The holding element further has a protective-ground conductor contact.
Thus, initially, the holding element has two functions. Specifically, it is used first as a mounting device for the connector and, second, it is used as a protective-ground conductor contact, by producing an electrically conductive connection to the light housing. The double function results in that only one installation step is required, where two installation steps were necessary in the past, namely, first, the mounting of the connector and, second, the connection of the protective-ground conductor contact to the housing. The installation effort and the costs are thus kept low.
The holding spring allows the connector to be mounted in the mounting opening in a particularly simple, reliable and automatic manner, simply by pushing it in. The outward bulge results in that the holding spring is in the form of an edge grounding bracket as is provided, for example, in German-Standard plug sockets with a ground connection. This thus engages around the edge of the mounting opening. This achieves the major advantage that the holding element can be provided on the edge of the connector, and can be disposed in the final mounted position between this and the edge of the mounting opening. The holding spring thus in this case clamps the connector in the mounting opening and holds it there in a captive manner owing to the configuration of the recessed grip. The configuration at the edge results in that, in the extreme, the area of the mounting opening can be as large as, or even slightly larger than, the cross-sectional area of the connector. This results in the advantageous capability to provide the connection with connecting units that are accessible on both sides, without adversely affecting its accessibility through the housing wall. In this case, the expression accessible on both sides refers to a connecting unit that is accessible from outside the light housing, and a connecting unit that is accessible from inside the light housing.
In contrast to a configuration with latching tongues formed like barbs, which spread against the inside of the housing wall, this also achieves the advantage that, when required, the connecting terminal can be removed from the mounting opening once again, without any major effort.
In order to achieve a particularly reliable electrical contact with the housing, the holding spring, in one advantageous refinement, has sharp edges and/or is profiled. It therefore penetrates through any varnish layers or else oxidation layers that there may be on the housing.
The holding spring is preferably approximately U-shaped with two side limbs, with each side limb having an outward bulge to form a recessed grip with the housing wall. The holding spring is thus in the form of a double spring clip, thus resulting in a particularly robust configuration and in the connector being held particularly reliably in the mounting opening.
According to one preferred embodiment, the holding element has a contact part that acts as a protective-ground conductor contact and has a cutting element pointing outward in the direction of the housing wall. The contact part is in this case in particular in the form of a component that acts separately from the holding spring, so that both the holding spring and the contact part can be configured in a particularly suitable manner with regard to their respective function.
In this case, the cutting element, and in particular the contact part together with the cutting element, are advantageously held elastically. This ensures that the cutting element is pressed against the housing wall, that is to say it exerts as high a contact pressure as possible, to form a reliable protective-ground contact. At the same time, the elastic or sprung mounting is used to ensure that the cutting element is pressed through any varnish layer that may be present. In particular, the contact part is configured to be elastic independently of the holding spring. Its functions, including the function of making contact with the contact part and the function of holding the holding spring (which, in addition, can also carry out a contact-making function), are thus reliably ensured separately from one another, to be precise irrespective of the tolerances of the connector in relation to the mounting opening, and irrespective of the thickness of the sheet metal of the housing wall.
In order to achieve a configuration which is as cost-effective as possible and can be produced as easily as possible, the holding spring and the contact part are in the form of an integral stamped and bent part.
In order to mount it securely in the mounting opening, the connector expediently has a holding element on at least two opposite sides. The mounting function is preferably carried out exclusively by the holding elements, and no further mounting device is required.
In order to achieve a configuration that is simple and cost-effective, the two holding elements are connected to one another via a connecting bracket that is, in particular, H-shaped. The duplicated configuration of the holding elements and their direct connection via an electrically conductive connecting bracket mean that the function of the protective-ground contact has a redundant configuration. Even if one of the holding elements does not make suitable contact with the housing wall, the protective-ground contact function is ensured by the second holding element.
The two holding elements are preferably in the form of a common, integral stamped and bent part in order to achieve a configuration which is simple to produce. Before the stamping and bending process, the work piece is in this case, in particular, in the form of an approximately rectangular and flat piece of metal. The holding springs are each stamped out and formed as a U-shaped bracket at its two opposite ends, and the respective contact parts are stamped out and formed from the inner region of the U-shaped brackets.
The connecting bracket is advantageously disposed such that it runs transversely on a connector base platform, with the holding elements in each case being bent out approximately at right angles at the edge of the connector base platform. This results in good guidance and retention of the holding elements on an insulating housing having the connector base platform.
The connecting bracket expediently has a clamping opening into which a contact pin of an associated protective-ground conductor connection is inserted. The electrical connection between the protective-ground conductor contact provided by the contact part and a protective-ground conductor inserted into the connector is thus produced in a simple manner, by use of a plug-in clamping connection.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a connector, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.